Buku amat best (and it's not even a buku lima!)

Greetings from Tanjung Tokong fellows! :)

I've just read a really good and super interesting book. I was trying to kill time as much as possible at Borders, skimming through shelf after shelf for a good book. I don't plan to buy any that day. I was on tight budget. But there are so many books that I wanted to buy and surprisingly all the books are not the typical chic lit that I always snuggle up and reread over and over again.

At that point I found out that I am moving on to a new direction in reading. A new light. Heh heh. I'm learning to read other stuff rather than 0h-so-fun-a girl-who-has-it-all-but-lousy-ex bf-and-finding-new-career sort of thing. I'm welcoming serious issues in my life. I found out that I'm open to read serious stuff now. Serious books that touch about life, about relationships between human beings, about war, about differences of races and understanding. I'm welcoming maturity in my life. Yes, it's kinda late to welcome maturity when you are already 23 but hey, I'm loud and proud of it. *winks*

As I was at Borders with Emma and she was busy skimming for chic lit (her excuse was she's buying her own Xmas gift), I went on to the other side of shelf on my own. The Fiction side rather than the Romance neighbourhood. I was skimming and skimming and I was dazed by so many books. I first laid my fingers on the super interesting book as I was squatting practically because I'm tired for standing there for almost an hour. The first thing that caught my eyes is the title of the book. "I wanna be your Joey Ramone". I know I've heard the title before but I was having a hard time recalling for it. Being me, being Aliza Mansoor who is germophobic, and suffers mild OCD I felt the eagerness and the urge to rack my brain at that very moment on the historic details about the title. It's just too catchy.

So I grabbed the book, walked to the children section where there's a corner full of story books and wooden stools and tables for kids to enjoy themselves. I secured a place there. It was around 2p.m. so there were no kids, and it's Thursday. I looked at the book cover. Cool. A girl's boots. And it's a black and white photo. Double coolness! The kind of boots that Courtney Love would wear during her Hole era. I turned the book to read the back page. Something to do with punk life. A girl abandoned by her mother and her life story being a punk rock star. Interesting. Then it strucked. The book's title is actually a song title! Now, I'm having a hard time racking for the band's name. Note to self: more Ginkgo pills to munch after this.

And....tada! My bruised brain finally managed to hit the right button and self muttering I was unconsciously chanting "Sleater Kinney! Sleater Kinney! Sleater Kinney!" and heck there was a Chinese lady with her little girl looking at me as if I'm a giant talking amoeba! Pfft...

Of course I am humiliated by my own stupidity and kemakngai-ness talking aloud to myself in public spot. But I was too eager. I mean oh coolness! A song title (rare song title by rare super band) for a book title?! WHAT?! WHAT?! *Ellen DeGeneres's style* So I flipped open the book. The cover is really classy with rows of colourful guitar picks. Pink, red, yellow guitar picks. Definitely a girl's book. And I read the first page. And then. . .

Fine. I stood up and walked past the rows of lame CDs (one of them is Westlife) and past a really cool shelf where all the Moleskine's journals stood up proudly. My aim is the cash register. That's it. I'm going to burn my budget and get this book. Heck or not. The first page gave me the addiction feeling of more and more pages but I gotta stop and clear out from my 'secret hidden place' because the Borders-bother-brother had shooed me from the children corner said that it is strictly for children below 12. Pfft...!!

So I bought that book. And so Emma and I had canceled our plan to fill our tummies with the so oh delicious Paddington PanCake because like me, Emma had burnt her budget by scoring something else. We ended up at 1901 instead. The hotdogger is a weird Indian guy who talks like a female robot. Seriously. And I thought, heck can't you be a little nicer to hungry people? But as soon as both of us were seated and started to make the full use of the mirror wall by looking at our faces the robotic Indian man with female voice is nicer this time. He actually smiled and said "Enjoy your meal". Thank you very much.

Then we headed home and after I've settle mandatory routines like shower, dinner, TV, email, texting, and bugging both of mommies I'm finally settled to start my reading. Double heck for racking my brain earlier today. The book's title and the origins is stated on page 2 of the book! Gah.... I don't plan to read much as it was already 2 a.m. and I read and read and read and read and yawned and read again. Until my eyes couldn't take it anymore and setting the alarm clock for tomorrow (that morning) I've realized that it was already 550 a.m.!!! Gracious! I have a 8 a.m. class. Dang it..I'm so gonna be a zombie. Realizing the fact that if I sleep now the possibility of me waking up by 630 would be as equal as having Chilli's to serve tempe goreng kunyit as one of the dish so I've decided to stay awake, pump in more caffeine and continue reading. I did and I finished the whole book and I love it! Although I was jaded and zombie like to class I can't help but to feel punk the whole day :) Hahaha!

So peeps, if you are looking for a book full of music influence, rock life, feminism, journey of a lost rock star please do read this book. It's available in ebook too. Coolness!


I wanna be your Joey Ramone by Stephanie Kuehnert. Recommended by MTV Books and of course, my miss Tanjung Tokong @ lebih tepat Cik Balik Batu depan Hong Kong Hotel, me!



cheers
liza mansoor who is currently singing Hey oh! Let's go! Hey oh! Let's go!